Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM's speech at the dedication of Guru Gobind Singh Hospital to the Nation in Jamnagar
How is everyone? Hope you all are in best of spirits!
My best wishes to you all on the auspicious occasion of Shivaratri. May Bholenath bless everyone!
Before I begin, I want you all to say along with me thrice -
Bharat Mata ki Jai for Mighty India!
Bharat Mata ki Jai for Victorious India!
Bharat Mata ki Jai for the brave soldiers!
My dear brothers and sisters of Jamnagar who have gathered here in such great numbers to bless me!
Today is the auspicious occasion of Shivaratri and Gujarat is a place that possesses two Jyotirlingas. The land of Somnath and Nageshwar are really auspicious and I am grateful that I have got the opportunity to visit these two places on this auspicious occasion of Shivaratri.
When I was the Chief Minister, I used to attend meetings of Chief Ministers all over the country. I used to tell them - "you think that there is no problem in Gujarat. Everything is hunky-dory." I used to explain them and they did feel surprised. I used to tell them that Gujarat was a state that didn't have enough resources. There was a greater problem of water scarcity. Our several villages used to be in dire need of water. The region used to suffer from drought for about 7 out of 10 years. The government used to be confused as to how to deliver drinking water to those areas. If God had given us the facility of water, we would have taken India to great heights. That was the power we possessed.
Our budget, the entire strength of the state government had to be diverted towards fulfilling the water needs. The Chief Ministers from all over India never believed that Gujarat had so many problems. They just could not guess. But there was our resolution too. It is true that we don't have perennial rivers and we receive scanty rainfall. But we cannot just keep on cribbing over the fate if we want to take Gujarat on the path of development. Kutch used to be scantily populated as there was lack of water. So we decided to solve the water problem first. We would bring water to the region and turn Gujarat into water-sufficient region. It is true that there were a lot of hurdles before the Sardar Sarovar Dam. And all the governments of those periods are responsible for those hurdles. They cannot escape! They have to give answers. If 40 years back, the work on the Narmada had been completed, Gujarat wouldn't have to spend so much money on water that it did over the last 40 years. Now that the Sardar Sarovar dam is completed, the region is getting water. Prior to that, when the dam was under construction, we had to face a lot of trouble while supplying water to Kutch and Kathiawad. We formulated a scheme called 'Sauni' Yojana. When I announced about the scheme for the first time in Rajkot, a few people started saying that Modi is presenting this scheme with an eye on the elections. Elections keep going on somewhere or the other. Whatever I do, the people start linking that with elections. At that time, everything seemed impossible; spending thousands of crores of rupees, carrying water to a height equivalent to a 20-storeyed building. This seemed impossible because we were used to seeing only tankers and hand-pumps. We had never thought of a greater solution that those things.
On one hand was that mentality; those people had ruled who couldn't see beyond the tankers. While we are those people who take the initiative to get huge 500-700 kilometers long pipelines constructed for water. These pipelines are so big that one can drive a Maruti car inside it. As a result, today water is reaching those areas through the SAUNI Yojana. The BSF soldiers are able to drink the fresh water of river Narmada at the border of Kutch because of the power of technology, engineering techniques and willpower. I am glad that even after leaving Gujarat, our team is engaged in the work of fulfilling the dreams in a time-bound manner with the same dedication. And all the phases of the SAUNI Yojana are getting completed one after the other. I always used to say that the water of Narmada is not water but Paras . Just like the touch of Paras can turn iron into gold, similarly the touch of Narmada can turn the land of Gujarat into greenery so that it produces gold. Our farmers will sweat it out but when that sweats confluence with Narmada, the sweat will start glowing. And Gujarat has shown that today.
Today I have also got the opportunity to dedicate the new schemes for the expansion of the Guru Gobind Singh ji Medical College here. We all should know and remember that Gujarat has a special connection to the Guru-tradition. One of the 'Panj-Pyare' of Guru Gobind Singh ji, belonged to Gujarat's Dwarika and was from the community of tailors. He had gone to Guru Gobind Singh ji as his disciple and had offered his life. The son of a tailor from Dwarika had gone to Guru Gobind Singh ji and had joined and worked for the Sikh tradition. He was one of the five soldiers. At that time, Dwarika was part of Jamnagar. Consequently, this hospital was named after Guru Gobind Singh ji.
This name was an attempt to make that incident in history immortal. And today we have taken a major revolutionary step towards healthcare with this hospital. Such a revolution is taking place in Gujarat and the entire India. I will be heading towards Ahmedabad from here. There are four projects related to hospitals. What is the reason? In today's time where we are leading a hectic lifestyle, modern treatment will not be possible without hospitals and modern technology.
There was a time when all the people used to be healthy. There used to be just one Vaidya Raj or doctor for the entire village and the village used to be healthy. Now times have changed. There are separate doctors for left eye and right eye. This is an era of specialty. We too have to get ready for that. Today modern hospitals are being built in Gujarat. It will directly benefit the people. Moreover, there are schemes like Ayushman Bharat and MA scheme - Mukhyamantri Amrutam Yojana. When I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, I had started one Chiranjivi Yojana so as to ensure that the mother's delivery takes place in hospital, and mothers' lives are saved and children's lives are saved. This scheme was highly successful. Thereafter, we kept on formulating schemes one after the other in relation to healthcare in Gujarat. After I started working in the Central government, I started the Ayushman Bharat scheme and it is the biggest scheme in the world.
You all know that I am not fond of small things. Whatever I do, I do it in a large scale. Didn't that happen now? The pipelines usually measure 500 km, 900km or 700km in length. We don't work in bits and pieces. Similarly, the Ayushman Bharat Yojana will benefit the population more than the combined population of America, Canada and Mexico.
The government will provide up to Rs.5 lakhs of treatment to any poor family in a year and to any member of that family. He will never have to be poor. Moreover, the poor can get treatment in the biggest hospitals. He wouldn't have to go to a government hospital and return home in the evening waiting for the doctor. He has the right. More than 15000 major private hospitals in the country have agreed to cooperate with us in the work.
Moreover, if a brother living in Jamnagar goes to Bhopal and falls ill, he would not have to come back to Jamnagar. He could get himself treated in Bhopal's hospital free of cost just by showing the card. Similarly, if he goes to Kolkata or Cochin, he would get free treatment in those cities too.
So, the common man should receive healthcare services. Due to these initiatives, the possibility of big hospitals in small towns has increased. It has created a possibility of setting up about 2000-3000 big new hospitals throughout the country. A large area will be developed. When one hospital is set up, it provides employment to thousands of people. They require people for every big and small task like technicians etc. The nation will be swept up with revolution in the field of healthcare. And I have got the opportunity to come here for one such hospital.
There is one issue with water. The problem begins when a person crosses the limit. Even after starting the massive 'SAUNI' scheme, the need for water is still not fulfilled looking at the Gujarat's water scenario that lacks perennial rivers and sufficient rainfall. Therefore, there is a need to frame a scheme to convert sea water into sweet water on a large scale by spending crores. And the foundation stone of one such project has been laid today. Turning the sea water into sweet water and distributing it to the people.
This means that we should use water by considering it as God's Prasad. Gujarat has no right to waste water. The poor gets water after so much of hard work. If the poor were to receive one rupee, 80 paise was given to him and 20 paise was kept aside for water. What is the reason? Without water life will not be possible. If we had to construct 1 lakh rooms in schools, 20,000 rooms less were constructed and that money was saved for water. Similarly, some amount of money was kept aside from the construction of hospitals and used for water.
A small amount of money has to be kept aside for water in every region of Gujarat. This means that water is the most valuable thing. In such a scenario, it is the responsibility of every person in Gujarat to save water. The farmers should use drip irrigation. Saving water is mandatory for us. There is a need to create an environment where every drop of water is properly used. The sanitation campaign achieved a great success, and has turned into a mass movement. This time the people of Gujarat visited the Kumbh Congregation and praised the clean environment there. The cleanliness at the Kumbh Congregation has touched the people. It created a sanitation movement in the country.
Mahatma Gandhi had visited Kumbh 100 years back and had expressed his desire for a clean Kumbh. It was not done for 100 years but we did it. Therefore, just like the sanitation campaign has been successful, the 'save water' movement can also be successful within Gujarat. Yes or no? Can we move in that direction? And today as we are Consecrating Lord Shiva with Narmada water, on the auspicious occasion of Shivaratri, let Gujarat take a vow to save water. You will see how a massive revolution will sweep Gujarat.
Today several projects related to the railways have also been framed. The work of electrification, gauge conversion, double lining etc. is going on at double the speed compared to earlier. This is not something new for you. You have already seen me working before. But the people of the country are surprised that such a thing can happen too. I ask them to go and see Gujarat. It is possible. Everything is possible when one does the work. Today this is happening in the country. Modern railways, coaches and everything is being done at double the pace compared to before.
We have started the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. Those farmers with less than 5 Acres of land will get Rs.6000 in their bank accounts every year. Rs. 2000 will reach their bank accounts before every season. It will help them to purchase fertilizers, seeds, pesticides. But they have started spreading lies and rumours. Every 10 years, they have this habit of announcing loan waivers just before elections. But they do nothing. The farmers keep suffering for 10 years. And you will be surprised to know that they had promised of loan waivers keeping in mind the general elections of 2008-09. The loans were of Rs.6 lakh crores but they waived how much? Rs.52000 crores! They bluffed and took away all the votes. After the elections the poor farmer used to think that he was not included in the criteria so he was left out. This is how they befooled the people.
We have brought a scheme according to which Rs.75 thousand crores will go into the bank accounts of the farmers every year and Rs.7.5 lakh crores in 10 years. If Rs.7.5 lakh crores are accumulated in the villages, it can transform the economy of the villages. That is, if a person couldn't purchase a bicycle before should purchase one now. He should purchase shoes or socks for his children that he couldn't get them before. He should get good quality utensils at home and cook good food. Likewise, the economy of the village could be transformed completely; whereas when those people used to waive the loans, only 20-25 farmers out of 100 used to benefit in a village. But with our scheme, about 90 out of 100 farmers will be benefitted every year in that village.
Brothers and sisters,
In order to get permanent solutions to the problems, when we are working with the mantra of 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas', it is benefitting all the people to such a great extent. We have decided to extend the facilities given to the farmers also to the animal rearers. Now even the animal herders will receive the Kisan Credit Card. The animal herders and the fishermen too will receive loans at cheaper interest rates. So, arrangements have been made even for the fishermen. When Atal Ji had formed the government for the first time in the county, during that time for the first time a separate department was formed for the tribal people. Prior to that, there was no department for the tribal people. After the Modi government came to power, a separate ministry has been formed for the fishermen. And work has been done to solve the issues of the fishermen, for their development, and efforts are on to provide modern equipment to the fishermen. We have tried to ensure that even the fishermen just like the farmers are able to get loans on lower interest rates through Kisan Credit cards. We have tried to bring about permanent changes.
Today our fishermen are fishing only at the edges where the catch is less. But if they get deeper into the water, their income will increase. The central government is providing subsidy so that their efforts are less and they can get the kind of vessels for deep sea fishing. The Rs.15 lakh subsidy is being provided to the fishermen so that they can earn great incomes through deep sea fishing.
We are trying to ensure that everyone in this country has a house by 2022. Just as I told you that I don't like anything small. I do everything till it is completed, it is big and is done in short span of time. There should not be a single family in the country by 2022 that doesn't own a house. The previous government had constructed only 25 lakh houses while we have constructed 1 crore 30 lakh houses just within 55 months. Therefore, I say that by 2022, every person in the country will get a house. And by house I don't mean just the four walls but also other amenities like gas connection, electricity connection, water connection and schools nearby. Nothing should be incomplete. The work on this scheme is going on and today I have got the opportunity to hand over the house keys to the people in Jamnagar and those who have not received I would like to tell them that Modi government will once again come to power and it is my dream to hand over houses to every person by 2020. Everyone will receive a house. Jamnagar is known for the small enterprises. Therefore, it is a request to Jamnagar which is synonymous with small enterprises to go online to apply for loans. Our government has made several schemes for the small enterprises. For the first time, under this scheme, you don't have to physically go to banks. You can apply online and within 59 minutes loans of up to Rs.1 crore will be approved. Just within 59 minutes!
All the leakages have been plugged. There is no need to bribe the bankers or to go after pleasing them. Apply online; submit your documents and you will receive your right in 59 minutes. This government has brought about such a revolution. As a result, Ease of Doing Business has improved from rank 142 to 77. Such a leap forward! This is because all the hassles of license etc. have been removed. And its benefits are being availed by Jamnagar, Morbi and Rajkot. A wonderful environment has been created for the small factories. Therefore, it is a huge advantage for small enterprises, and people working in the engineering field and production field!
Wherever was necessary, we kept on modifying the rules of GST and today the GST has been made extremely useful for the common man. The common man is benefitting from it. Earlier the common man could not sell his own product to the central government and the state government. It could be a small product like plastic buckets, tables or chairs. We created a GeM portal. Register with GeM, the producers and the suppliers can write their requirements. The common man sells products worth crores of rupees to the government. There is no need for tenders or middlemen. There is no discrimination or any scope for corruption. The common man directly sells his products to the government. Earlier there used to be big players for tenders. There used to be a chain wherein the smallest producer used to sell to someone on top of him; that person used to further sell it to a person above him and finally there used to be a person on top of everyone who used to sell it to the government. All the money used to go to that big player. But now, the money straightaway goes to the smallest of the producers. The government has taken this bold step. We are giving out its benefits.
Brothers and sisters,
No nation can move ahead without power and resources. There used to be communal clashes in Gujarat. Yes or no? These used to be there even in Jamnagar. Yes or no? Everything has stopped or not? Now everyone is living peacefully or not? Everyone is progressing or not? All those people who were engaged in instigating violence have been curbed therefore, everything is moving smoothly now. Now tell me brothers, should terrorism be eradicated from the nation or not? Not like this. Say it loudly the people of Jamnagar! This disease of terrorism should be eradicated or not?
The infected area needs the medicine or not? When you visit a doctor and he tells you that the problem is in your blood and it needs to be corrected, he would ask you to take the medicine for blood. Isn't it? We have to cure the main disease or not? Now the main disease lies in the neighborhood. Now Jamnagar is its neighbor. You must be getting information from there. Jamnagar and Kutch are the first to receive any kind of information.
I want to ask the people of Jamnagar. Do you trust what the Indian army says or not? Should I consider it as true or not? But a few people have a problem with that.
Brothers and sisters,
The country should be proud of our army's capabilities and power. During a speech in Delhi, I had said that the entire nation was feeling proud of the valour shown by the Indian army. Why a few people should cry like losers amidst that? I told them that if our Indian Air Force had Rafael, the story would have been different. If those people are unable to understand what can I say, what is my fault? That is their limitation. When I said that, they started saying that Modi was questioning the act of Indian Air Force. I say please use your 'Sabu'. Sabu means Samanya Buddhi or Common sense.
During airstrike, if we had Rafael with our Air Force, no plane from our side would have been downed, while none from their side could have escaped. This is my calculation. But I salute the nation's brave-hearts. It is our resolution that we will not leave the enemies of our nation alone. Our opposition has trouble even with that - what did Modi do? What did Modi do? Come and see for yourself what he did. Their Mantra is - 'come, unite and uproot Modi'. The nation's Mantra is -' come, unite and uproot terrorism'. They want to uproot Modi while we want to uproot terrorism. You tell me brothers and sisters. Should we go with those who want to end terrorism or not? Should we connect with the desire of those who want to end terrorism or not?
Salute to you all brothers and sisters! Say along with me -
Bharat Mata ki Jai!
Bharat Mata ki Jai!
Bharat Mata ki Jai!
Thanks a lot!